Polling began in West Bengal’s Falta assembly constituency on Thursday under unprecedented security arrangements after the Election Commission ordered a fresh vote, citing what it described as a “subversion of the democratic process”.
The constituency had earlier voted on April 29 during the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections. However, the Election Commission later annulled the polling following allegations of widespread irregularities and procedural violations across several booths.
Voting on Thursday opened amid heightened political tension, intensified surveillance and a massive deployment of Central Armed Police Force personnel as authorities attempted to prevent any repeat of the earlier controversy.
The Election Commission significantly increased security deployment for the repoll, with officials saying there would be no compromise on monitoring and enforcement this time.
According to PTI, eight Central Armed Police Force personnel have been stationed at every polling booth — double the number deployed during the April 29 polling. A senior poll panel official said the strengthened arrangements were aimed at ensuring a free and fair election process.
“The poll panel does not want to leave any room for irregularities this time. Security arrangements have therefore been significantly strengthened,” the official told PTI.
Falta has a total of 285 polling booths, and nearly 35 companies of central forces have been deployed across the constituency. In addition, 30 quick response teams have been placed on standby to immediately address any untoward incidents during voting.
The Election Commission has also tightened technological surveillance measures for the repoll day. Two web cameras have been installed inside every polling booth, while another camera has been placed outside to monitor movement around polling stations.
Officials said live webcasting would cover both polling activity and the surrounding areas. Monitoring is being carried out directly from the offices of the District Election Officer and the Chief Electoral Officer.
“Monitoring will be conducted from the offices of the District Election Officer (DEO) and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO),” the official said.
Authorities are also considering drone surveillance to keep watch over sensitive pockets in the constituency as voting progresses.
In a dramatic political development ahead of the repoll, Trinamool Congress candidate Jahangir Khan withdrew from the contest on Tuesday.
Khan linked his decision to a special package announcement for Falta made by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. “I dreamt that Falta should become golden Falta. The chief minister has said that a special package would be announced for Falta. That is why I am stepping aside from contesting the repoll,” he said.
Calling himself “the son of the soil”, Khan added that he was withdrawing to ensure “peace and prosperity” for the people of Falta.
Adhikari later mocked Khan’s exit during a high-voltage roadshow in the constituency. “Where is self-styled Pushpa? He had no other way, as he won't get a polling agent, so he decided to run away,” the chief minister said.
During his campaign in Falta, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari promised jobs for one member of each BJP worker’s family allegedly affected by post-poll violence after the 2021 Assembly elections.
He also announced that a special package for the constituency would be included in the next state budget, further raising the political stakes around the repoll.
Meanwhile, BJP candidate Debangshu Panda expressed confidence about the party’s prospects in the constituency. “In Falta, the BJP will win by a margin of 1-1.5 lakhs votes,” Panda said ahead of polling day.
The repoll has now turned into a prestige battle, with both the ruling establishment and the opposition closely watching voter turnout and law-and-order conditions.
The decision to cancel the April 29 polling followed a detailed report submitted by special observer Sujeet Mishra after reviewing CCTV footage from polling stations across the constituency.
The report documented serious irregularities at multiple booths, including missing video footage during crucial periods of polling. At polling station 229, no footage was available from the beginning of voting until 3:14 pm.
At polling station 177, footage reportedly disappeared during multiple time windows, including between 1.05 pm and 1.15 pm, 1.28 pm and 1.38 pm, and again from 3.04 pm to 3.22 pm.
The observer noted that “serious allegations of intimidation and voter obstruction remained unverified due to missing footage”.
